Orphan's Sea Legs
by jeeze louise
Summary: The orphaned teenaged daughter of the captain's deceased old friend joins the crew of the Venture in hopes of finding a new home. shortly before the kong fiasco, jimmyoc
1. Arrival on the SS Venture

Right, so everyone has to give me a break with the title. This is my first fic. Titles are hard. Just…yeah. Live with it.

Constructive criticism is loved.

**Orphan's Sea legs**

_**Chapter One : Arrival on the SS Venture.**_

It hadn't even been three days since I'd gotten the note from Mr Englehorn announcing my father's passing, and I was already selling all that I could from our minimal flat to pay my way onto his old ship, the Venture. Mr Englehorn had written that they were in New York for a few days, but I'm sure he wasn't expecting me to come begging for a home.

My father and Captain Englehorn had been very close friends for the most of the 30 years they had known each other – the captain had never known me, though. My father was rarely at home, always having those adventures at sea. When Mam had died in winter last year, he'd come back for about a month to help me, but was then called back to the oceans in that mysterious way of his. It was unfortunate that the next I would hear of him would be news of his death at sea.

By the time I reached the shipyard, night had begun to fall. I recognized Englehorn talking to a short, round, well dressed man. I stepped up to them, rallying all the confidence I could, and announced, 'Excuse me, Mr Englehorn?'

The Captain raised his chin and looked down at me with furrowed brow and squinting eyes, lips playing with the cigarette in his mouth.

'Who are you?' he finally asked.

I squared my shoulders as best I could. 'June Leighton.'

Englehorn's eyebrows shot up, and he brought his chin back down to a normal level. 'Well, then,' he slurred past the cigarette, 'You look just like you're old dad.'

The short, now ignored man, began to look bothered with this interruption, sensing it would last longer than he had time for.

'Yes, well,' I cleared my throat for good measure, 'I'd like to buy a spot on your ship, sir. Got nowhere else left without my father about.'

Englehorn squinted once again, whether it was from suspicion, smoke, or the cold weather settling into the city, I wasn't sure. He tossed the cigarette to the ground and butted it out with his boot.

'How old are you?' he asked, his german accent thick.

'16, sir. 17 in March.'

He frowned at me. The short man was now visibly annoyed with me. He seemed to be in quite a rush.

'I'll pay you all the money I have, and cook and clean the best I can.' I said hastily, 'I wont be any trouble.'

He snorted lightly, 'Women are always trouble.'

'I'm a fine cook!' I insisted. 'I wont take up more room than I'm taking up right here, honest!' Urgency was now weaving through my words.

'We've already got a well enough cook,' he said slowly, 'But having a face light Leighton's around might cheer up these old bastards.'

I looked hopefully up at him, a smile pulling at the corners of my lips at hearing the familiar way in which the captain and my father had taunted the crew. Having my father's distinguishing features didn't hurt my chances at getting a home, either.

He saw the look on my face and raised a threatening finger. 'Any trouble and you're off at the next stop, got it?'

I grinned and stuck my hand out for him to shake, which he did, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

'Hayes!' he yelled, and a dark man stuck his head out of a door up on the ship.

'Sir?' the man answered.

'Come and show our newest crewmember around.' Englehorn turned back to me. 'This is Mister Hayes, my right hand man.'

Mister Hayes had made his way to where we were on the dock.

'This is June Leighton. She's our new apprentice cook.'

Mister Hayes smiled an easy smile, white teeth flashing attractively, and shook my hand. 'Welcome aboard, Miss Leighton.'

* * *

Hayes quickly showed me around the rest of the small, less than glamorous ship, introducing me to the animal cages in the hull, the rooms where most of the crew slept, and the galley and mess where I would end up spending most of my time.

The current cook, Lumpy, didn't take much liking to me when we were introduced. He didn't want someone else in his kitchen, getting in the way and changing the way he worked.

Most of the crew was out enjoying the solid ground of New York while the could before the SS Venture set off again. Once Hayes showed me to my small cot off the galley, I dropped my bag and went of to see Mister Lumpy.

He was churning some thick foul smelling stew and poking at a squawking bird that was caged above his workplace.

'Anything for me to do, Mister Lumpy?' I asked timidly.

He turned and peered at me through the one eye that he kept open, chewing on a cigarette. 'Not here, there isn't. No woman will be working in this here galley!'

He gave a slight shooing motion. I smiled uneasily, retreating to me bunk once more. They were just sore old blokes, I reasoned. They'd have to get used to me sooner or later.

I pulled my dog eared sketch book and charcoals from my bag and made my way out to the deck. I was surprised to see that we had begun chugging out of the shipyard and were heading out into the river. There was a number of new faces pulling ropes and heading into the galley. I pulled a wooden box to the foredock to sit on and began mapping out a picture of the New York skyline that was fanning out before me. I was nearly done before I realized there was someone in the crow's nest above me.

A book of only about 100 pages flittered down next to me. I packed away my charcoals and stood, picking up the book. Looking into the sky, I could see a figure in the nest, lying completely still, half-hazardly slumped in the bars.

'Oh…excuse me?' I tried.

The person didn't respond or move in any way.

'Excuse me! Sir!' I called, raising my voice.

The person jolted, the grey hat on his head falling down next to me like the book had. He spun around, caught and twisted in the bars, before straightening enough to look down at me.

He was a young man, much younger than the rest of the crew that I had already seen. He was probably a year or two older than me.

'You, um…' I started awkwardly, 'You dropped your book.' I waved it in the air. 'And your hat.'

He patted a head on his rumpled, dirty hair and cursed. He scampered down the mast ropes with an incredible fluidity.

He reached the deck and bent to pick up his hat, which he scrunched on his head. I passed him his book, a wrinkled little novel. He shoved it into the back of his pants.

He looked at me with open interest. His sharp, not yet mature features in turn made me ache to draw him.

He scrubbed a hand against his shirt before holding it out to me. I shook it.

'I'm – '

'Jimmy!'

Our heads shot towards the wing bridge, from where Mr Hayes was calling. 'Get up here and give me a hand!' He paused, nodding in my direction. 'And you'd best be in with Lumpy, Miss Leighton. Those men will be expecting a meal from the two of you right about now.'

Jimmy turned back to me and grinned, shook my hand and said, 'Nice to meet you, Miss Leighton.'

He straightened his newly recovered hat and made his way up to Mister Hayes.

I gathered up my charcoal and sketches and made my way back into the now bustling galley.

* * *

There's chapter one. Nothing much happened. Review, please. Next chapter up soon. 


	2. Life at Sea

First of all, thanks for the reviews – it took a bit longer than I thought to get a second chapter up. I hope the story starts pushing forwards – please tell me If I'm lagging off!

Constructive criticism is still loved!

_**Chapter Two: Life at Sea.**_

That evening, as I scrubbed dishes from dinner (having made a sort of truce with Lumpy that he could kick me out only when I was in his way), I noticed that a number of upper class passengers had joined us on board for our trip, bringing ridiculously sized trunks along the way. They scrunched their noses each time they passed us in the galley. Lumpy snorted after them.

'They wont be minding us when we're they're only source of food, now will they!'

I was beginning to grow used to the steady sway of the water and the rumble of the engines that shook the ship. I hadn't known even where we were going before the ship had taken off earlier. I asked Lumpy if he knew anything.

'Singapore. Somewhere in the East, Skipper told me.' Lumpy didn't seem to care about where we were going, only that we were going, and it was about time.

The first few days on the Venture passed easily, a routine quickly settling in.

Evenings were filled mostly by stories and poker games with the crew, who were surely enough growing used to a female being part of their group, and a late retreat to my small room. The nights were long and cold. Lumpy's snoring filled the already cramped area around me and the springs in my thin mattress poked at me incessantly. In the mornings I was either serving porridge or shaving the crew's faces – whichever Lumpy didn't feel like doing, I did. I cleaned during the day, chatted and joked with the crew, and if everything was done, pulled out those sketches.

One lazy afternoon, a few days after our departure, I sat at a table in the mess and drew Lumpy fiddling about in the kitchen as he usually did. His rough, weather beaten face was already a favourite of mine, and catching him where he was happiest was easy to transfer to the page.

Jimmy was sitting in the corner, reading his book with his feet up on the table. This was slowly becoming usual of him, joining us in the mess when he was done the things that Mister Hayes would assign him to every day.

Every once in a while, I could see his face flicking in the my direction through the corner of my eye. I grinned inwardly.

Lumpy stopped his fidgeting. He looked at me, then over at Jimmy. He turned his head back in my direction and I quickly tried to look more focused on my drawing, biting my lip and staring down the lines.

Lumpy chuckled, shook his head, and snorted, 'Kids,' under his breath.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably, pretending not to notice the situation in the room. I gathered my supplied together and stood. As I made my way out of the mess, I glanced as discreetly as I could towards Jimmy once again.

His blue eyes were once again peering over the edge of his book, looking intently at me. As soon as my eyes met his, they shot back into his book. He shifted his weight uncomfortably.

I grinned to myself and looked up to push open the door through to the hallway. I was a bit too slow.

_Wham._

Lumpy erupted with peels of laughter, almost as though he was expecting something like this to happen.

'Watch yourself there, June,' He wheezed, 'there's a door in the way.'

I glanced back to the old cook, rubbing my forehead where I could feel a goose egg growing. Jimmy was holding back his own laughter in the corner.

'Thanks for the warning.' I mumbled unhappily.

* * *

The days on board continued to tick away. I'd gained friendship with more or less the whole population of the boat. The whole crew had realized who's daughter I was by now. I reckoned that the basis of their friendliness towards me was because of that, along with the fact that I'd begun convincing Lumpy to put something different than walnuts into his meals once in a while.

I'd even struck up a firm friendship with Ann, the star of the motion picture that was now being filmed on the ship. I would sometimes sit with her in her room as she'd pull curlers through her hair before shooting a scene. I was envious of her silky blonde hair and beautiful dresses. My scrubby brown hair was always pulled into a messy bun on the back of my head, and I rarely wore anything more than an old pair of trousers and a scratchy shirt.

I'd just as quickly lost that one-time awkwardness with Jimmy. While continuing his visits in the galley, he's talked and joked with Lumpy and I whenever he could. When we played an evening game of poker, he'd sit next to me and sneak an occasional hint on what to play.

One afternoon, I sat on a barrel on the foredeck of the ship and drew the cheerful dolphins that were often skipping around in the wake the bow created.

The familiar tune Jimmy often whistled and the rhythm of his footsteps came up behind me. He stood beside me, looping his thumbs through his suspenders. He peered down at my tablet and held a deep, smooth note. Kicking a barrel of his own over, he sat down next to me.

'Mighty nice, June. Looks just like the real thing, eh?'

He leaned over and pulled the table from my hands, flipping through the various pages of things I'd sketched. There was everything in there – members of the crew doing their daily duties, Ann sitting in front of her mirror, applying blush to her cheeks and Captain Englehorn grasping the ship's wheel up in the Captain's quarters. There was one of Jimmy, dancing on the stern deck, the crew laughing and clapping in a circle around the two.

Jimmy flipped to that drawing and held it open.

'This one's my favourite.'

'Hah, figures! Looks who's in it!' I laughed.

Jimmy closed the pad shut and stoop quickly from his barrel. I looked up at him, startled.

'Well then, where are you off to?'

'Who said I was going anywhere? I'm just thinking.'

'All that fuss, just to think a little – woah!'

Jimmy had grabbed me by the hand and pulled me up off the barrel, my charcoals flying and scattering about the deck. I looked at him incredulously.

'That day was fun, eh?' he asked, his eyes sparkling, smile flashing. 'All that dancing at singing?'

'Jimmy, my charcoals!' I complained, half seriously.

Jimmy laughed and pulled me off with him to an open space on the deck.

'Come on dance with me!'

I laughed with him, but tried to pull my hand out of his.

'I can't dance!' I insisted, 'I'm no performer. Jimmy!'

He continued pulling me around with him, dancing like that had that afternoon with Ann, who had kept right up with him. I tried my best to follow his sporadic movement. I could vaguely hear Mister Hayes and the Skipper laughing from the Wing bridge.

Jimmy was exploding with life. His smile was everywhere, echoing like sound in an empty room. He howled with laughter at my foolish attempts to keep up. Members of the crew had begun to gather around us, clapping at cat-calling as Jimmy spun about, his feet hitting the wooden deck rhythmically.

There was a moment where he had his back turned, dancing for a moment in front of the cheering men. I tried my best to snake away, knowing how much of a fool I was making of myself – but at the last moment, a pair of strong hands were on my waist, pulling me into the air.

I shrieked with surprise as Jimmy hauled me onto his shoulder, spinning around in circles. I grabbed at the material on his back in a last-stitch effort to save my life. He then spread his arms out to his sides, letting go of me completely, but still spinning like a top. The crowd around us turned into a blur of faces and sounds, mixing with Jimmy's howls and my shrieks.

* * *

Abrupt end to the chapter, eh? Sorry about that... if you read, please review. Don't be shy, and really, if it wasn't good, speak up. I want the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 


	3. Dont Trust the Filmmakers

Thanks to everyone for the reviews – nothing gets the creative juices flowing like positive feedback!

_**Chapter Three: Don't Trust the Filmmakers.**_

Early the next morning, as I stood next to Lumpy as we chopped walnuts in the galley, the old cook surprised me by striking up a conversation. He wasn't usually up to talking until lunch time rolled around.

'The stow away then, eh?' He asked casually.

I was definitely confused, by his odd question and the fact that he was talking at all. 'I'm sorry, what?'

Lumpy grinned mischievously at me. 'I knew it couldn't have been long. A pretty young lady like you can't stay out of trouble on a small boat like this for more than a few weeks.'

I put down my knife and put a hand on my hip, regarding Lumpy with a confused sort of 'you've got to be kidding me' expression.

'Ah, c'man!' He continued, chuckling, 'I saw the two of you in here that one day. I've never seen better doe eyes in my life, and I been round a lot of women.'

'Lumpy!' I was taken aback by this frank approach. I flipped my head round the mess to make sure there was no one there to overhear Lumpy's accusations.

'And dancing on deck yesterday!' He was very nearly wiping tears of laughter from his eyes at this point. 'Well, yeh can't say Jimmy was dancin' with Miss Darrow in quite the same way, now can you?'

My eyes were wide, my cheeks flushed. I'd developed a pretty tight relationship with Lumpy over the last while, but I was at a loss for what I should do next.

'I….I'm taking a break!' I huffed, pulling my apron off. I gave Lumpy a playful elbow in the side as I left the galley, leaving him to giggle crazily on his own.

I strode through the thin hallways, scrunching my apron in my hands. Was that really what it looked like when Jimmy and I were together? I didn't think Lumpy could tell that much from anything. But really, Jimmy, my beau!

I had definitely grown attached to him, we were nearly the same age, he'd been kind to me, it's only natural. But could he really turn into my beau? I'd never really had one before, not with Mum having died last year, right when the boys had started noticing us at school. I'd had to leave class to find a job for myself.

Sure, I thought about him a lot – that cheerful voice, sparkling eyes and straight teeth would be hard for anyone to forget. Did all of the other men think of us the way Lumpy did? How humiliating! I was Jimmy's friend, surely they'd seen the way friends behave before!

I suddenly stopped worrying the apron in my hands and leaned against the wall. It was awfully exhausting, thinking about how everyone around us thought about us when we were together. Even more worrying was the thought of what Jimmy felt when we spent time together. I was probably just a friend to him. His thoughts were more likely to be occupied by Ann, with her fine silks and smooth blonde hair.

There was a sudden crash to my left. I squeaked and jumped away, surprised by the sudden intrusion of my thoughts.

Jimmy had burst out of the hull, an odd look on his face. He closed the hull's hatch quickly and surprisingly silently and grabbed my hand, pulling me back through the hall.

'Wait, where are we going?' I managed.

He turned his head back, still moving, and pressed a finger to his lips. Something was definitely up.

He pulled me around a few corners and into his small closet of a room. I sat on his lumpy bed as he scrounged about on a small desk covered in papers and random pieces of rope and cloth. He dug out a scrap of paper and a sliver of charcoal and sat down next to me.

Jimmy proceeded to scrawla few messyletters onto the sheet and let me see them.

'I haven't been reading for long, but these spell 'SKULL', right?'

I nodded and looked at him with some concern. 'What's 'skull' got to do with anything?'

He pulled hand through his dirty hair, letting out a breath.

'Down in the hull just now, that Mister Denham and Jack were talking about that motion picture of theirs.' Jimmy pulled another hand through his hair. 'But Denham was talking all hushed about some island, some place he didn't want the skipper or anyone else to hear about. It definitely wasn't Singapore, though. Mr Driscoll spelled this out.' Jimmy motioned to the messy letters.

I looked at Jim incredulously, then I looked out the small, nearly opaque window in his room. 'But…Skull Island?'

Jimmy nodded.

'So..you don't think we're going to Singapore at all?'

He shrugged, shaking his head at the same time.

'It might just be a misunderstanding,' I quipped, 'Really, who would name a place something like that?'

'I've got to tell Mister Hayes, that's all I know.' Jimmy said quietly, almost as though he expected Denham to show up at his room at that very moment.

It was then that I realized how close we were sitting next to each other on the bed, and all of my worries for minutes before flooded back. I silently cursed Lumpy's eager try at some gossip. I wouldn't be this anxious around Jimmy if he hadn't said anything.

None the less, I felt my face flush and I looked at the grimy floor.

Jimmy's eyes were right on me.

'June?' The concern in his voice was blatant. 'You feeling alright? Want to go up on deck for some fresh air?'

His innocence was unbelievable at times. I'd heard about how Mister Hayes found him among the animals below deck, but Jimmy's childlike understanding and manorisms sometimes caught me off guard, making me believe he was only 9 or 10 years old at heart. Still, he often had the brawn and roughness of the hardened sea farer he was. His two personalities fought each other in an almost comical way.

My face still red, I smiled at Jimmy and stood up. 'Maybe I'll just head back to the kitchens. Lumpy will be in a right strop if I'm gone too long.'

He nodded and stood as well. He walked with me down the halls, trying to choose a way that didn't lead us to a possible confrontation with Denham or Mister Driscoll.

Right before we parted ways, I turned to Jimmy and whispered, 'When you find anything out, you'll come tell me?'

His eyes darted down the hall behind me, where Jed, a veteran to the ship, had just emerged from the toilet.

Jimmy's fingers were suddenly clasped around my hand. I looked at him, rather stunned.

He grinned his usual, everyday grin. 'You'll be the first to hear of it.' He released my hand and headed out to the deck, searching out Mister Hayes.

I stood fast for a moment, confused. I thought the only reason why Jimmy would take my hand would be to pull me somewhere. But there were no glances or secret looks, either. Same old Jimmy, through and through. It might just be an old habit of his– still, I hadn't seen Jimmy clasping hands with any of the other crewmembers on the Venture.

I was surprised when I found myself at the mess. Lumpy was peering through our window at the scene being shot on deck. I tried not to think about what he'd said to me before I'd run into Jimmy and returned to my jobs.

* * *

Once more, with feeling!

Thanks once more for all the sweet reviews, I'm really happy so many of you are enjoying this little musing of mine. I might just change the type of story from 'Adventure/Romance' to just plain romance. It's getting pretty fluffy around here.


	4. Through Another's Eyes

Wow, it's really taken me longer than usual to get a chapter up. It's exam season round here, I've been busier than regular. And, I've just realized I haven't put any disclaimers up! High time for that, then!

Disclaimer: I really don't own much of anything. The only character who is one hundred per cent mine is our June.

On to the chapter – I thought I'd try something a bit different this chapter. This time we're in Jimmy's point of view. Very short chapter, I'm not used to the change in character. Thanks again for all of the kind reviews.

_**Chapter Four: Through Another's Eyes**_

June's face changed so quickly when I had held her hand. It was only to reassure her – she'd gone all nervous and flustered, like she'd do when Lumpy told some crude joke at one of our poker games.

She left me awfully confused with that look on her face. I'd seen Jack and Ann hand in hand, even some of the crew held and kissed the hands of ladies after some of our nights on shore in the exotic places the Venture took us. I reckoned it was a friendly gesture, but June seemed rather taken aback.

I really hadn't been around many women in my life that I could remember, and the ones I had usually skirted around me and did their best to keep their distance.

June didn't do that. Not to me or any of the others on this old ship. June was just like the rest of us. She sang and joked and played with us, she even wore the same clothes as us. Don't get me wrong, I took into consideration that she was a girl, and she wasn't really as akin to us as she made out. But she sure was a good time.

I'd passed her sitting with Miss Darrow a number of times, and I noticed a difference in her right away. She didn't laugh like she did around me, but in a tinkering, giggling sort of way.

It hit me pretty hard, that tinkering giggle. The flare of femininity was rare and exciting coming from June. I even found myself listening for the giggle, hoping it might slip while we were talking.

One day we celebrated Choy's birthday with an afternoon of uninterrupted leisure. I found myself dancing with Miss Darrow on deck, and then I heard it. The tinkering giggle cut through the other sounds around me. June was on an upper deck, her legs through the bars and hanging over the edge. She had her sketchbook open, and she was watching us. I was elated that maybe it was watching me that made that rare laugh appear.

It began turning into a habit, listening for the laugh and seeing if I could make it happen again. When there was nothing to do, I'd find June. My time wasn't spent exclusively around Mister Hayes anymore. Even just sitting with her, not even talking, was exciting.

The tinkering giggle was a highlight of any day, but it was nothing in comparison to her full, uninhibited laughter.

It happened when I persuaded her into dancing with me on the deck one boring afternoon. She had been hesitant, but once I had her going, she was glowing. The sounds coming from her and the expressions on her face were unbelievable.

June was completely different from her father. He had been stiff and sure. While still being a kind man, I'm sure I hadn't heard him laugh more than 5 times during the nearly 5 years I'd been on the ship and in his company. He moved in calculated steps, knowing just where to go. June seemed to have a sort of flowing thing in her body. Even when she just scrubbed pots, I would see the steady movement. You could see it clearly, even through the working clothes that were so much bigger than her frame. She moved with fluidity, like water after it's been pushed away from the hull of a ship.

She had been red with embarrassment as I kept pulling her along with me on deck. She tried to escape at one point, but I had pulled her by the waist onto my shoulder, spinning and laughing.

That was when I found the laugh that was so raw, so undeniably June. She squealed and screamed and laughed, weaving her fingers through the shirt on my back to hold on.

As I set her back down, dizzy and laughing, most of her hair had come out of the haphazard twist she usually wore it all the time. A warm breeze blew past us, blowing the long brown strands lightly around her face. Her pink cheeks and flashing eyes caught me for a short moment, before a big wave hit the ship and we both stumbled over. The men around us laughed and began taking back to the ship's demands,

I helped June gather up her charcoals that I had spilled when I pulled her to her feet. She grinned, saying she should get back to work, and left.

Later that same day, during dinner in the mess, I noticed different things about her. The way her dainty little hands moved when she passed a bowl to someone, or the way she'd bite her lip when lifting a heavy pot of soup. The little things that I'd never seen before started to fascinate me.

* * *

Well then, that was fun! Ruddy short chapter, though. A longer one will be up within the week, I promise. I'll probably do more character shifts through the stretch of the story, going back into Jimmy's point of view and also that of other members of the crew. Thanks again for any reviews – constructive criticism is still very much loved! 


	5. Confrontation

It took a bit longer than I thought it would to get up here, but I said within the week, I've got till tomorrow! This chapter's longer than the last one, but that one was REALLLLY short. Hope this makes up for it.

And a note!

I know that what I wrote in this chapter doesn't follow exactly what happened in the movie – so, hardcore Kong fans – don't beat me up too bad, it's all for the sake of the story. Back in June's point of view, by the by.

_**Chapter Five : Confrontation**_

The whispers on the ship throughout the rest of the day were unstiltered. As I cooked and cleaned with Lumpy in the kitchen, several men had come in with reports of the scandals of Jack Driscoll and Carl Denham. I kept my mouth shut as rumours of buried treasures, lost civilizations and secret islands buzzed around me. I waited for Jimmy before I started confirming or denying and stories. At this point, most anything could be false. Or, more importantly, true.

A few minutes before Lumpy rang the dinner bell, Jimmy arrived. He slinked back into a chair in a far corner and opened his book. I was confused at how he didn't come speak to me. I realized then just how many people there were around me, early and ready for dinner. Jimmy's eyes shot over the top of the book at me, and he tipped his head, motioning to me.

I picked up a bucked of water and a rag to 'wipe down' the tables. As I neared his, I said under my breath, 'What's going on?'

'I don't know.' Jim whispered in reply, 'Mister Hayes talked to Englehorn. He hadn't heard anything about 'skull island' either.

I bit my lip and looked from the rag I was sweeping about the table to Jimmy. His forehead was knotted.

'You haven't asked Mister Denham yet?'

Jimmy shook his head, eyes darting to the door where Carl Denham had just swaggered in. The man sat at a table not far from ours with his assistant Preston.

Jimmy looked determinedly at his book, and I continued on my way, wiping the tables until Lumpy rang the bell and I helped him serve the food out of the galley.

* * *

After dinner, scrubbing once more in the galley, Lumpy was talking to the Captain, Jimmy, and another of the crewmen named Bill in hushed voices in the mess.

I did my best to read lips and drop some eaves from where I was, but they were conscious of the constantly prying ears and eyes that were everywhere on the Venture. Anyway, I reasoned in the back of my head that Jimmy would tell me everything later.

I gave up trying to spy quickly and kept to my work. By the time I was nearly finished, Lumpy had begun enjoying a cigarette near his pokey little bird, and Jimmy was standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. I dried my hands on my apron and stepped over to him.

'Has anyone talked to Denham?' I asked quietly, even though Lumpy likely knew as much as Jimmy could tell me.

He leaned against the doorway and shook his head. 'Denham always comes in here at night, right?'

'Give or take a few times, yeah.'

Jimmy nodded. 'We're going to talk to him here.'

It wasn't long before Denham strode in confidently, unawares that the whole ship was talking about him, and the chase began. Lumpy and Jimmy got him started, and Mister Hayes stepped out from the shadows as well. Their confrontation didn't last long. Soon enough, the men had Denham and Mister Driscoll up in the captain's lounge, and I never heard much about Skull Island or wherever it was we were headed.

Jimmy andI walked up to the bow of the ship and planted ourselves on our regular boxes. It had now been dark for a good few hours, but the sky was not lit with stars. Nearly every other night at sea had covered us with a dazzling blanket of stars.

'We're turning around.' Jimmy said after a moment and stood. 'Mister Hayes and Skipper must have a handle on where we are now.'

Sure enough, Denham and Driscoll were out on the wing bridge, looking rather forlorn, while Mister Hayes and the Captian scrounged about with maps and charts inside.

'Oh, I hope we're not going back to New York,' I said sadly, resting my head in my hands. 'I was starting to look forward to the Far East.'

Jimmy didnt reply. Sometimes he'd do that - stuck in his own world, I figured. He was leaning against the mast with his hands in his pockets.

'Jimmy! Jimmy, get up in the nest, we need your eye!'

Mister Hayes had shouted from the wing bridge. As I looked up towards him, I realized that we were caught in a thickening cloud of fog. Jimmy seemed startled by this realization too, and made for the mast ropes, scurrying upwards.

I stood up and walked to the very front of the Venture, leaning against and beyond the bars holding me on. I did my best to peer through the fog, but to no avail. Any lights that were shone at it were reflected right back, creating even more of a visibility problem. Englehorn shouted that most of them be turned off.

The ship was slowing considerably. Mister Hayes had Bill, the man he had been meeting with before, measure the depth of the water around us, in case we hit unexpected land.

I looked up the mast towards Jimmy. He was nearly falling off the bars, he was leaning so far, straining his eyes to see any glimmer of something.

'30 fathoms!' came the shout from Bill.

The water was losing depth, and fast. I could feel the ship beneath me slow further. There was a deathly silence on board, as though everyone thought they might hear whatever we were approaching, if anything. The only sound was the steady, rumbling heartbeat of the engines. The suspense was unbearable.

Then, suddenly: 'WALL! THERE'S A WALL AHEAD!'

Jimmy had shouted desperately from his vantage point, and there, right before us, breaking through the thick dog was a high, sharp, and very formidable wall.

Shouts arose from the ship. Englehorn and Hayes yelled to turn the ship away from head on collision, but it seemed hopeless to me. From where I was standing on the bow, the wall was no more than 30 feet from me. I heard Jimmy's voice break from above me.

'June, hold on to something, fast!'

He was bracing himself about the nest and mast jutting through the platform he stood on. There was very little around me to grab hold of - I ran for the railing mounted against the cabin wall closest to me - at least 20 feet away.

Before I knew it, there was a sickening crunch and a lurch. I was thrown off my feet, hitting the deck hard. My head bounced off the wooden boards with a thud. I looked to the side and saw the heavy box I had previously been sitting on slide towards me. I snapped my eyes shut and turned my head as quickly as possible.

When the box struck the side of my head, the world went black. When I did see anything, it was blurry and unsteady. I heard Jimmy calling my name frantically from the nest and I realized I was wet. I panicked for a second, thinking I had been thrown into the water. But I felt the hardness of the deck, so that couldent be right. The ship was tossing violently in the ocean that had been so calm just moments before.

There were more shouts from above. Jimmy looked as if he was nearly ready to climb the ropes back to the deck, but the tossing of the ship was giving him a bit of trouble.

I tried to raise myself onto my elbows. My head was swimming and throbbing. White spots appeared in front of my eyes. Captain Englehorn was shouting orders over the chaos. Everytime one of the massive waves hit the ship, water poured over me and the ship lurched violently. I kept hearing Jimmy from above me, shouting warnings of rocks to the Captain.

'June, get to the mast and hold on!'

Jimmy was adressing me this time. I looked up blearily, the white spots sitting right where he would have been in my line of sight. It would be easy enough to make it to the mast. It wasnt more than 5 feet away.

I didnt even bother trying to stand up. It would have been too hard with all of this movement, anyways. I pulled myself onto my elbows once again and did what I could to reach the mast.

I wrapped the mast ropes around my fists and pulled myself up, leaning against the mast itself. The ship got caught in another merciless wave and pitched around again. My head was starting to clear, the ragdoll feeling slipping away but a very steady pounding in my head replaced it. I brought my hand to my forehead, and my fingers came away slick and red. I clutched the ropes on the mast helplessly, wishing I could help the bustleing men around me. I looked around, making out the bizzare rock formations that were caging us in. There was a large swell suddenly plucking up the Venture that carried us to the side, directly into the path of a large rock that jutted out violently from the ocean. I wrapped the ropes around my hands tightly this time, prepared for the impact.

We slammed into the rock smoothly, if an action like that can be described in such a way. The Venture was lodged in the rock, tilted slightly to the side so that the whole ship was on an angle.

The ocean's state had changed suddenly once more. Now it was a steady, wavy but calm stretch of water again. The crew members took off their hats in puzzlement at this odd weather. Even stranger was what they saw beyond the confines of the ship.

In the now arriving dawn, the wall that was warned about was now perfectly visible. It stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions. It was ragged and sharp, but obviously man-made. The rocks around us were all carved in shapes of frightening characters and demons. Even the rock that our own ship was stuck in seemed to have a face.

Jimmy had landed on the deck next to me and looked me over worriedly. I unwrapped my shivering, raw hands from the ropes and brought my fingers to my head once more. The gash must have been large, as my fingers came back covered in blood once more. The cut felt to be on my hairline, above my eyebrow and just missing my temple. Jimmy drew his breath in quickly at the sight of it, and lifted a hand as though to comfort me.

'Come on, then,' He said, 'You'll have a concussion for sure. Mister Hayes will want to have a look at it.'

* * *

I knooow, still not very long. Sorry, not much of an urge to write this past week, lots has been happening around me. And my friend stepped on my finger in heels tonight! Big and purple and throbbing, and all that. Oh, the suffering! All to type up this chapter!

ahahhaha, can we say overdramatic?

reviews are lovely, good or bad.


	6. Skull Island

Wow, Sorry it's been such a long time. I dont have any viable excuses, I just...didnt get anything up here? But, this chapter's probably the longest i've done so far, maybe it'll tide you over.

**_Chapter Six - Skull Island_**

My head throbbed as I sat, on a slight angle, on a soft sofa in Captain Englehorn's lounge. Jimmy had brought me to Mister Hayes, who had brought us up here. The gash in my head was now clean and I was holding a cloth to it. Along with Jimmy, Captain Englehorn and Ann were in the room. Ann had come to ask the captian what was going on, and how the ship could get out of it's current predicament.

Englehorn was visibly annoyed, though it didnt seem like Ann saw that as she fired nervous questions his way. He was standing at the ship's wheel, staring at the rocky obstacles we would have to find a way past if we could get off this rock in the first place.

Jimmy was standing aswell, near me and leaning against the fireplace mantle, completely silent.

Mister Hayes burst through the door of the lounge, nearly soaked through in water and out of breath.

'Captain, we're taking on water. You'd better come see this.'

If anything, Englehorn seemed relieved to have this diversion. He followed his first mate dutifully out of the lounge.

Not five seconds later, Carl Denham had burst into the room aswell. He looked happier than i'd ever seen him before at sea. As soon as he laid eyes on Jimmy and I, however, the crazed smile faltered.

'Miss Darrow, could I have a word?' He said hastily.

Ann followed him outside to the wing bridge. Through the window, I saw the short man grab her by the elbow and whisper something in her ear.

'What was that all about?' Jimmy said more than asked.

I looked at Jimmy and grinned. 'I'm not sure we're meant to know when it comes to Mister Denham,' I said tiredly.

Jim snorted lightly and sat down next to me on the lounge sofa, setting his elbows on his knees.

'I was pretty scared when you fell, you know.' He said, 'I saw that crate sliding at you and all, nearly made me jump right out of the nest.'

I laughed lightly, my head crackling painfully. I winced. 'Wouldent have been much help, there was nothing stopping it.'

'I would have, though. Jumped. If the crash hadnt shaken me up so much.'

I grinned to myself at Jimmy's strange comment. I stretched a hand out and placed it over his own.

'Thanks, Jim. That's nice, in an odd way.'

He laughed, putting his remaining hand over the pair of ours and leaned back so as we were shoulder to shoulder.

'Didnt think you liked touching my hands,' Jimmy mumbled.

I gave him a light elbow in the ribs, to keep things from getting too serious.

'Must be something to do with the concussion, eh? I've lost my mind.'

Jim laughed hoarsely, but his voice was suddenly cut off by a metallic groan from on deck.

Jimmy sat up. 'What the hell was that?'

He stood and opened the door, sticking his head into the open air. He froze in place at the door, halfway in, halfway out.

'Oh, shit,'

And he was off. I could hear his heavy footsteps clanging down the metal stairs just outside. I stood aswell, an excruciating pain ricocheting through my head, and went to look out the door.

There, dissapearing over the edge of the ship, was one of our two lifeboats. Mister Driscoll, Mister Denham, Ann, and a good number of the other filmmakers were on board. I stood out on the wing bride and called out to the two men operating the pullies that lowered them noisily to the water.

'Hey, where are they going?'

The men replied with shrugs and shakes of their heads. Iwasnt sure where Jimmy had gone, but it was probably to find the Captain or Mister Hayes.

The lifeboat was now nearing the sharp, rocky shore, Mister Denham operating that camera of his as they bobbed along on the water.

A door slammed open under me andJimmy, a disgruntled Hayes and Englehorn were now on deck, staring out at the lifeboat.

I saw the Captain straighten his hat tersley and make his way to the wing bridge where I was standing, clutching the cold railing. He walked right past me, towards the door to his lounge.

'Mister Englehorn,' I said, 'wont we go after them?'

The captain turned around to face me, his jaw set hard and cold as stone.

'Let them go on their escapades. If they could get off the ship so easily, I'm sure they'll be back in due time.'

He them turned into his lounge, closing the door securely behind him. I looked down to where Jimmy was - he was talking to Mister Hayes. I knew better than to disturb them, so I shakily made my way back to Lumpy in the kitchens. There would definitly be a mess to clean up there.

* * *

Sure enough, upon entering the mess, I wasnt greeted by a room of havoc and disorder with a furious cook fuming in the centre of it all. Instead I was greeted by a room of havoc and disorder with no one around. I stepped over chair legs and tables to get to the Galley. Still, no furious Lumpy. Lumpy was standing at the window with a smoke in between his fingers, next to his usual birdcage. Around him were various pots and plates, spilled spices and walnuts. 

'Polly's cage broke,' He said, not turning to me. 'Flew right off, didnt even say g'bye.'

He showed no outward grief towards the departure of his bird. He had just stated a fact - by the look on his face when he did turn around, I wasnt even sure whether he'd liked the thing. I smiled to myself, endeared by this usually blunt and unfeeling cook's bizzarebut confusingliking for a bird.

'Come on, then. This mess wont clean itself up.' I said gently, not sure what mood Lumpy would be in at the thought of cleaning such a mess up.

I straightened up the Mess hall to the best of my abilities, but the chairs kept sliding out of place when I put them anywhere. Lumpy was having just as much trouble as I was - he was cursing regularly, often right before I heard a loud crash of dishes. I had nearly given up on the idea of straightening anything up at all when there was a terrible noise coming through the window of the Galley.

A shrill, blood curdling scream drifted in from the island not 500 metres from the Venture. It was quiet and fading, but it chilled me to the bone. Not ten seconds later, a second sound exploded from Skull Island. It sounded a bit like a lion I had seen at the zoo in New York, only it was louder, deeper, older than any lion I could fathom. I completely forgot anything I had been doing and ran from the mess, my head spinning painfully, leaving Lumpy to continue swear on his own.

Emerging into clear air, many of the other men had gathered on deck like I had, looking towards the mysterious shores of the island and questioning the noise amongst themselves. I heard Jimmy's voice above me, and looking up I saw him and Mister Hayes talking on the wing bridge, also regardingthe island. I ran up to the upper deck just as the Captain stepped out from his lounge. He had another stern look on his face, but it wasnt nearly the same one he wore when Denham had run off in the lifeboat. He had a pistol grasped tightly in his hand.

'Mister Hayes,' He said calmly and evenly, 'have the men prepare the second lifeboat for us.'

He handed the pistol to Hayes, who nodded, slipped the gun into his belt, and est off, the Captain right behind him. Right before stepping down to the main deck, Englehorn turned back to Jimmy and I.

'I'll be having you row,' he said, nodding in Jimmy's direction. 'You, on the other hand,' he now looked at me, 'will stay here.'

I spun around to look at Jimmy, my mouth hanging open, and then looked back at Englehorn.

'Wait, that's rediculous! Why can't - hey!'

The Captain was already half way to the lifeboat that was being prepared to be lowered to the sea. I huffed after him, appaled, Jimmy right behind me.

'Mister Englehorn, please! I'll help a lot, you know I wont get in the way. Let me come along!'

The captain turned back to me, right before stepping into the lifeboat.

'Miss Leighton, there are many other men staying behind with you. We do not plan on being long. Stay and fulfil you duty as a crewmember of this ship. Am I understood?'

His words were stern and almost planned. He crumpled any determination I had to join the men. He towered over me, reminding me vividly of any time I had spent with my father.

A hand was pressing against my shoulder now, Jimmy's, I guessed.

'June, come on.' He said, 'Just stay here. We wont be long, I promise.'

Men were loading into the lifeboat - most toting guns. I stepped back, still slightly angry with the decision to have me stay aboard the Venture. Most of the other crew members werent going either, but I was growing tired of the small ship. Though it had grown to be my home, I had the desperate urge to be on solid ground once more.

The men were loaded in and lowered to the water in a matter of minutes, the strong arms of Jimmy and 3 other men propelling them to the rocky shore.There were now other noises passing through the air from the island. It was hard to tell whether they were from a man or beast, or even if they were false noises, amplified by the tall rocksall around us. Rain was beginning to fall, a steady and heavy rain, but without the wind and waves of a storm.

I went inside to the mess with the rest of the crew, where a slow game of poker would be sure to start in a few minutes. It was unofficially decided that since we were all stuck in a rock with no Captain, a poker game was in order.

Fifteen minutes into our game there was a yell from the few men who had been left on watch. I ran to the deck, pulling a rain slicker on. The two boats were returning, pitching through the rainy waters. I hurries back to the galley where Lumpy still was, preparing dinner and laughing with the crew.

'Lumpy, would you put a kettle on to boil? They're coming back, and they're definitly going to want some warm tea.'

The cook nodded and set to it. I headed back out to the open air where the lifeboats were now being roped onto the pulleys, ready to be hauled back on board. The rain was still pounding down, the wind now picking up and the waves started to pitch. The first lifeboat on deck was carryingmany of the Filmmakers. Mister Denham stumbled off first, whey faced and missing the cocky attitude he left with. Right behind him was Mister Driscoll - or rather, two men holding Mister Driscoll up. I rushed forward.

'What happened?' I asked the two men who were holding him up.

'Think someone hit his head, or he mighthave fallen,' one of them said, 'He's been out cold ever since.'

I took the place of the bigger man, slinging one of Jack's arms over my shoulders. 'We've got to lie him down. We've taken him to the mess, if anyone's asking.'

The remaining support and I hauled Mister Driscoll to the mess hall, where we heaved him onto a table. I grabbed an apron from the kitchen and balled it up, placing it under his head. Lumpy was no longer in the Galley. I figured he must have gone out to help outside, so I turned to go aswell. Turning the corner to leave the room, I collided with a rather soggy someone.

'Oh, Jimmy!' I gasped, realizing who the dripping person was. I grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the galley, sitting him in a chair.

'Stay there, and take off your coat.' I said as I rushed back into my room. I grabbed my blanket and spun back through the galley, looking for that tea Lumpy was supposed to have made. Realizing Lumpy hadnt made any at all, I went back into the mess where Jimmy was.

He was looking across the room at the motionless form of Jack Driscoll on the table.

'Hey, is he gonna be alright?'

I glanced over at Mister Driscoll briefly before pulling a chair over to sit in front of Jimmy. 'Im sure he will be. Someone told me he just hit his head.'

Jimmy nodded, drops of water falling from his hair.

'Slicker didnt do much to keep you dry, then?' I said, pulling the soaked hat off his head.

Jimmy nodded again. 'We were out for too long.'

I pulled the blanket around him in some hopeless attempt to warm him up. He was soaked right through, and his lips were a darkening blue colour. His eyes were blank, looking at one spot but not focused on anything.

'Jim, what was on the island?'

His blank eyes turned to look at me. 'A village, sort of. But I don't know how anything lived there, all sharp edges and hard stones. But there were people, June. Dark like Mister Hayes, but really thin and small. Skin and bones with little peices of stuff covering them up. They killed two of our men, I think.'

I sucked in my breath, startled. I hadnt seen any bodies carried on the ship. I hadnt even noticed that anyone was missing.

There was a sudden lurch as the ship shifted, no doubt the work of the fierce waves outside. The voice of Mister Hayes burst down the hallway and into the galley where we were.

'All hands on deck! All hands!'

* * *

kind of random, ne? 

didnt much know where to finish on that one. and I'm sorry this story is so much the same as the movie's timeline and all, I'm not much for coming up with thrilling plots. The next chapter is all written, I've just got to find the time to get it up here. Thanks again for all the postive feedback.

negative is welcome aswell! as always!


End file.
